It was time to move on from Marlin Bay to something quite the opposite: an anchorage in the Everglades. While some people leave Marathon and head west to the infamous Key West, we decided to head east to West Key. We left Marlin Bay, which was full of sea grass, and followed the ICW west to the Old Seven Mile Bridge. We went under that and the “new” bridge, which was built in the 1980s. Then we went around the south side of Marathon following Hawks Channel.

We turned back “inside” at Indian Key Channel and wove our way through the shallow, nail-biting passage to West Key. I really, really, REALLY don’t like these shallow channels and long for the days of the marked 12-ft channels that line the inland rivers.

We found our spot and dropped our anchor. Almost immediately, we saw a manatee and then a sea turtle pop out of the water to say hello. The sea turtle actually waved, which was probably the coolest welcome we have seen at an anchorage.

We dropped the dinghy and Owen rowed toward the shore. Since we were in Everglades National Park, there are some areas where motors are not allowed. We think this was one of them, and it was too shallow for our dinghy motor anyway.

We tootled around the shore watching birds in the trees and in the water. We saw crabs, a shark, some fish, and lots of jellies. I even saw an entire school of fish jump at the same time. It was one of the highlights of the trip.

Eventually, we had to head back to the boat. Poor Owen is certain the boat was twice as far away from shore as it was before. We had such a peaceful night there in the park. It was close enough to civilization–just off of Islamorada–that we had data, but so quiet and full of nature to make it feel like we were alone in the world.

This spot also marked one of the coolest sunsets we’ve been blessed to see. Side note: We have more pictures of sunsets than we do of our children. Sorry, kids. Come visit!